Upstate Accelerated Scholars Program

About the program

Combine your interests in information, technology, and medicine through our partnership with Upstate Medical University. The Upstate Accelerated Scholars program (UAS) provides the opportunity for exceptionally competitive students with demonstrated clinical competencies to be accepted to medical school prior to matriculation at Syracuse University. Through this program, you’ll spend four years in one of our programs at the School of Information Studies. Upon successful completion of the Syracuse University degree and all requirements for the Accelerated Scholars Program, students matriculate at Upstate Medical University in the MD program

The UAS program is open to high school seniors who have applied to Syracuse University. Students intending to apply to this program are strongly recommended to apply for admission to Syracuse University by December 1.

Application Requirements

The UAS Program requires students to meet the following criteria:

• High School GPA in 90th percentile or 3.50 or better
• Extracurricular activities that demonstrate experience in healthcare setting(s) and a commitment to community service or volunteer work
• No MCAT is required, if accepted.
• Strong candidates for the program will have earned an SAT score of 1360 or better or ACT score of 29 or better.
  Please note: Though Syracuse University will not require SAT/ACT scores for students applying for fall 2022 admission, SAT/ACT scores are still required for the UAS Program, since the MCAT is waived.

Though a Syracuse University admissions interview is not required, applicants who meet the criteria above may wish to schedule an interview with the staff from the School of Information Studies Admissions Office. UAS applicants can schedule an admissions interview by submitting a request to iundergrad@syr.edu.

Admissions Process

Qualified applicants whose credentials have been reviewed by Syracuse University’s Admissions Committee and Office of Pre-Health Advising will be recommended to Upstate Medical University for further review. Recommended students will be notified of this decision by Syracuse University, and at that time will be required to complete a brief secondary application for Upstate Medical University and submit a $65 application fee to Upstate Medical University. Following review of their application materials, Upstate Medical University will select a small number of students to interview and notify applicants of their decisions.

Please note that applying Early Decision to Syracuse University only applies to your application to Syracuse University, which is considered separate from the selection process for the ASP Program; thus, if you apply Early Decision to Syracuse University and are accepted to your first-choice college at Syracuse then you will be bound to attending Syracuse based on the Early Decision commitment contract, regardless of whether you are accepted or not to the UAS Program. Students who will only strongly consider attending Syracuse University if they are accepted to the UAS Program should apply Regular Decision, while those who will plan to attend Syracuse regardless of whether they are accepted to the UAS Program should consider applying Early Decision.

Academic Requirements

If admitted to the UAS Program, students will be required to maintain academic performance and other criteria, as follows:

• Maintain a minimum GPA of 3.50 overall and in the sciences each semester
• Enroll in a minimum of 12 credit hours per semester
• Complete the following pre-requisite coursework (graded, not pass/fail)
  • General Biology I and II (with lab)
  • General Chemistry I and II (with lab)
  • Organic Chemistry I and II (with lab)
  • General Physics I and II (with lab)
  • Biochemistry
  • Psychology
  • Sociology
  • Statistics
• Complete and track 40 hours of volunteer service during the undergraduate career, preferably in direct contact with patients and physicians